The MNRE invited bids for these projects in the month of August 2011. The maximum project size is 20 MW. An individual or a consortium can bid for a maximum of three projects adding up to 50 MW.
The average tariff bid was INR 8.7 per unit. The lowest tariff bid was INR 7.49 per unit offered by Solairedirect SA of France for a five MW project in Rajasthan, while the highest successful tariff bid was INR 9.39 per unit by GreenInfra Solar Farms Ltd. from India for a 20 MW project, also in Rajasthan. As expected, the average tariff has shown a downward trend as compared to batch 1, falling by 27.5 percent.
Welspun Solar AP Pvt. Ltd. was the only individual developer that bid successfully for the entire 50MW allowed for a single bidder with tariffs of INR 7.97 for a 20 MW project and INR 8.05 and INR 8.14 for two 15 MW projects. Mahindra Solar One Pvt. Ltd. too won 50MW worth of projects, though in partnership with Kiran Energy. A 20 MW and a 15 MW project were won under Mahindras name while another 20 MW was won by Kiran Energy Pvt. Ltd. All three projects offered a bid of INR 9.34 per unit and are located in Rajasthan. Another major player was Azure Power India Pvt. Ltd. winning a 20 MW project and a 15 MW project, both at the tariff of INR 8.21 per unit.
The drastic fall in the tariffs mirrors the international trend of falling module prices. This has allowed for players to consider capital costs as low as INR 90 million per MW (Bridge to India estimate). In addition, players appear to be leveraging on deferred payment schemes offered by module manufacturers and low interest rates possible on the strength of their balance sheets. The state of Rajasthan has remained the best location for project developers due to the high solar irradiation.
These projects are scheduled to be completed before March 2013, close to the end of the first phase of the NSM.
